GOA Police on Tuesday booked three officials from Vedanta Group’s met coke division on charges of negligence after an engineer died in an accident at work in the company’s unit at Amona, under Bicholim police’s jurisdiction in North Goa, late Sunday night. According to the police, Umesh Pradhan, 31, died after he got trapped in one of the conveyor belts and injured his head. He was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.

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The FIR names shift in-charge Dinesh Kamat, maintenance chief Adhip Pai and head of value added business Navnath Vhatte. They have been and have booked them under IPC Sections 336 (endangering life) and 304-A (negligence). The FIR says that the accused trio “compelled Umesh Kumar to work beyond working hours, without following standard operating procedure mandate by the company, and without providing adequate safety measures”.

Bicholim police Sub-Inspector Chetan Saulekar’s report of the accident says the area where Pradhan was working was poorly lit, and factory officials had to “cut the conveyor belt” to retrieve the body. In a statement issued today, the company’s Chief Operating Officer Sauvick Mazumdar called it a “most unfortunate” incident and the company is “offering support to the family in the immediate aftermath of this tragic event”.